Author: Press Room

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins joined the House Problem Solvers Caucus lunch Thursday to talk about the stalled Homeland Security funding effort and proposals to overhaul federal immigration enforcement activities. “I think everyone is pretty frustrated at this point,” the Maine Republican said in an interview after the bipartisan meeting. The centrist group, which extended the invitation to Collins, talked through the pain points on finding a path out of the DHS shutdown that has stretched more than 40 days and is triggering massive air travel disruptions. The conversation comes ahead of a House vote later Thursday on funding DHS,…

The verdict comes after Facebook’s parent company was ordered to pay $375 million for profiting from exposing youngsters to online abuse A jury in California found Alphabet’s Google and Meta liable for $6 million in damages on Wednesday in a landmark lawsuit in which the social media giants were accused of being legally responsible for the addictive design of their platforms. Major US tech companies have faced increasing scrutiny over child and teen safety over the past decade, a debate that has now moved into courts and state legislatures. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, an organization that…

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday that the country’s military had eliminated Admiral Alireza Tangsiri of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), identifying him as the top official blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later issued his own statement, apparently confirming Katz’s claim and suggesting that the targeting and elimination of the IRGC terrorist was the product of “cooperation between us and our ally, the United States.” Tangsiri was the head of the IRGC’s naval units and had repeatedly threatened a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passageway for commercial shipping. Iran’s…

Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) said Tuesday on MS NOW’s “Ana Cabrera Reports” that, at this point, President Donald Trump was “losing his war.” Cabrera said, “What could be coming if the U.S. sends in these Marines?” Moulton said, “A lot of dead of young Americans, a lot of dead young Americans. That’s what could be coming. With no clear strategy, no clear plan. I mean, Trump still has no idea what to do to get out of this problem that he created. And let’s be clear, if the Marines actually try to take Kharg Island, and I agree with David…

A large contingent of House Republicans — encompassing hard-liners, Budget Committee members, panel chairs and party leaders — piled into Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Thursday afternoon to discuss a second party-line package, according to four people granted anonymity to share details of the private meeting. Among the lawmakers attending were Budget Chair Jodey Arrington of Texas and Republican Study Chair August Pfluger, also of Texas. Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Byron Donalds of Florida, Tom McClintock of California and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma were also on hand, alongside Pennsylvania Reps. Lloyd Smucker and Scott Perry. “We’re definitely preparing to move…

The Fiscal Math No One Puts on the Same Page California politics is saturated with a familiar accusation: undocumented immigrants are draining the state. They are blamed for budget deficits, overcrowded systems, and fiscal instability. The claim is repeated so often that it feels self‑evident. But public finance is not decided by repetition. It is decided by arithmetic. If the question is which group costs more in total public dollars flowing through California, the answer is not close. Retirees — heavily represented by the Baby Boomer generation — account for vastly larger public transfers than undocumented immigrants. Using conservative numbers,…

Reflection, an AI startup supported by chip manufacturer Nvidia, is currently in discussions to raise $2.5 billion at a valuation of $25 billion, with plans to take on China’s open source approach to artificial intelligence popularized by DeepSeek. The Wall Street Journal reports that AI startup Reflection is positioning itself as a key player in the development of open-source artificial intelligence systems in the United States, working to create freely available AI models that can serve as alternatives to proprietary systems. This fundraising effort represents one of the largest valuations for a company in the emerging open-source AI sector. Reflection…

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has now made it clear that men who identify as women are not eligible to compete in its women’s sporting events, which aligns the Olympics with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on sports ahead of the 2028 games in Los Angeles. “Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” the IOC said in a statement this week, according to the Associated Press. The IOC said that the new policy will be in force for the 2028 games…

Initial claims for jobless benefits remain near historic lows, and continuing claims fell to the lowest level in two years, indicating a level of job security with little precedent in the modern era. The number of new claims for state unemployment benefits inched up last week to 210,000, up by 5,000 from the prior week. The four-week moving average of claims, a measure economists see as a better guide to the health of the labor market, dipped to 210,500, a decline of 250. In data going back to 1967, the four-week average of new claims has only been this low…

Gentlemen visiting the men’s room at Oriole Park at Camden Yards or M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens play, could encounter an unfamiliar device. A bill requiring the placement of tampons and tampon dispensers in men’s restrooms inside public buildings is currently being debated in the Maryland legislature. The bill is sponsored by Howard County Delegate Terri Hill, D-District 2A, WBAL-11 reports. The measure has received mixed reactions from Marylanders. “I see no reason for it,” said Mark Esposito, via WBAL-11. Others think the new law could be convenient for them. “Sometimes people get embarrassed to ask and tell their…